Disciplinary panel member and chair training

A university can follow a fair policy and still reach an outcome that is unfair, or hard to defend, because of how the hearing itself was run.

In one case reviewed by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, a disciplinary panel found that a student had committed sexual misconduct and ended their studies. The Adjudicator decided the process had been unfair and recommended that a fresh panel reconsider the case. The issue was not whether misconduct had occurred, but the fairness of the hearing: the student had waited around eight months to be told the details of the allegations, and had been refused legal representation at the panel even though the case was serious and the potential consequences severe.

The hearing is the point where the earlier work is tested, and it is the part any appeal or ombuds stage will examine most closely. If an institution has invested in trauma-informed support and in trained investigators, but the hearing and the decision are not handled to the same standard, that earlier good work may be undone. It can also cause or compound harm: when a process is trauma-informed up to the panel but not at the panel itself, it can re-traumatise the reporting party.

Why the panel matters

Panels make the most serious decisions in student casework. They decide both whether something happened and what the outcome should be, often in sensitive cases, with harassment and sexual misconduct among the most serious. A fair hearing, one that manages the perception of bias and gives everyone a proper chance to be heard, is also more likely to produce a decision that is sound and can be defended. Research on procedural justice shows that people who feel a process was fair are more likely to accept the outcome, whatever it may be. A well-run panel protects the reporting party, the responding party, and the institution.

What the training covers

We can tailor the session to your own regulations and procedures. Training usually covers:

• Fair process in practice: adequate notice, transparency of the evidence, and recognising and managing the perception of bias.
• Procedural justice: building respect, voice, neutrality, and trust into how a hearing is run, so that outcomes are understood and accepted.
• Trauma-informed hearing practice: managing questioning, contact, and pace; the sensible use of breaks, remote attendance, and the supporter role; and understanding trauma responses so that evidence is weighed fairly.
• Clear, reasoned decisions: reaching findings on the balance of probabilities and giving reasons that can stand up to challenge, including on external review.
• Applying relevant case law:for example, how AB v University of XYZ affects decisions about whether and how the reporting party attends the hearing, so that their evidence can be tested and weighed fairly.
• A strand for chairs: managing the meeting, handling procedural decisions before and during a hearing, and keeping the process fair for everyone involved.

Who it is for

The training is for panel members, chairs, and the people who organise or secretary hearings. It works across serious student conduct, from general discipline to fitness to practise, with harassment and sexual misconduct among the most serious. Sessions can be aimed at people new to panels or used as a refresher for experienced members.

How it is delivered

Sessions can be tailored to your institution and delivered online or in person. They are built around your own regulations and the framework that applies to you. The training is practical and based on real casework, and it aims to do more than meet the minimum the regulations require.

Why Campus Resolve

Campus Resolve works only in higher education, and specifically in this area of casework. We work with institutions across the UK and Ireland, and ground each piece of work in the framework that applies to them. We have direct experience of regulation itself, including involvement in drafting the OIA’s guidance on harassment and sexual misconduct, and hands-on experience of putting new regulatory requirements into practice inside an institution.

We are a small, specialist team rather than a large firm or a single consultant, so the panel training connects to the rest of the process, from prevention and support, through investigation, to the decision and any review that follows. It also draws on senior safeguarding and survivor-support experience and a track record of designing and delivering trauma-informed training for panel members, based on evidence and real casework.

Get in touch

You can contact us for a quick conversation about what you need and a no-obligation quote by emailing info@campusresolve.co.uk or submit the form on our contact page linked below.